Recruiting Dear Prospective Student-Athlete: It is with great pride that I introduce you to the Georgia State University women’s basketball program. The following pages represent a brief glimpse into the heart of the people and places that make Panther Basketball so successful. For 11 years, as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the players and staff of this program succeeded in building a strong foundation that supports a highly competitive basketball team. Over the years, we have achieved a great deal of success and are now striving to reach even greater levels as we compete in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), one of the NCAA’s most competitive women’s basketball leagues and the eighth (8th) best conference in the nation in the final 2005-06 RPI standings. The success we obtained while members of the Atlantic Sun Conference has made this foundation a strong one. We have posted eight winning seasons over the last nine years and won 15 or more games in eight of the last nine campaigns. Additionally, during that same time frame, we have earned four postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament berths, three A-Sun Tournament Championships and three Regular Season Conference Champi- onships. Our success starts with recruiting and developing outstanding student-athletes. Over the past 12 years, we have had four players recognized as the Conference Player of the Year and 25 players who have earned All-Conference honors. To continue to build on these achievements as we compete in the CAA, the Panthers have signed another talented incoming class and are looking forward to contending for the conference championships and another NCAA Tourna- ment berth. Additionally, this program has a tremendous amount to offer outside the GSU Sports Arena. Located in thriving downtown Atlanta, Georgia State is home to nearly 26,000 students from all 50 states and 140 different countries. This diversified student body may select from 250 fields of study in 52 degree programs. With so many options, a student- athlete has the opportunity to succeed in almost any area of interest. But attending college is also about new experiences and personal growth. The city of Atlanta provides a vast arena where students may explore the theatre, professional athletics, art or music, not to mention the many different cultures and regions represented in the area’s many restaurants. This media guide represents such a short look at all that is available to those student-athletes who choose to join the Panther family. Our Web sites, www.gsu.edu and GeorgiaStateSports.com, provide a great opportunity to learn more about the university and the basketball program, respectively. Or, stop by for a game or two during the upcoming season– we would love the chance to meet you personally. I hope you enjoy discovering Georgia State and Panther Basketball through the pages of this media guide. I believe you will see why Georgia State has so much to offer. Sincerely, Head Coach Lea Henry 76 2006-07 GEORGIA STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL THIS IS GEORGIA STATE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY is one of the nation’s leading ur- ban research universities, educating Georgia’s most diverse popula- tion of students. More than 40,000 students are seeking degrees, with 26,000 on campus each semester. Students arrive from every county in Georgia, every state in the nation and more than 150 countries. Geor- gia State is the second largest institution of the 35 colleges and univer- sities in Georgia. Nestled in the heart of downtown Atlanta, Georgia State’s location allows students to learn not only in the classroom, but also in the sur- rounding city, where high-profile companies can provide hands-on ex- perience. Founded in 1913, Georgia State’s student body chooses from more than 52 bachelor’s, master’s, specialist’s and doctoral degree programs in 250 fields of study offered through six college-level units: • The J. Mack Robinson College of Business prepares students to lead by pursuing ethical, innovative and value-enhancing strategies Students come to Georgia State from every county in Geor- in a culturally diverse and technologically advanced world. The gia, every state in the nation and more than 150 countries. college’s flex MBA program has been ranked in the top ten for the past 11 years by U.S. News & World Report. • The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies educates students to become analysts, evaluators and designers of policies address- ing economic and social development issues at the local, regional, national and global levels. U.S. News & World Report rankings consistently place the school’s public finance and urban management programs among the top ten in the nation. • The College of Arts and Sciences is the home for excellence and innovation in instruction, research, creative activity and commu- nity service from the classroom to the laboratory to the performance hall. The college offers challenges from one of the world’s leading astronomy facilities, to biotechnology and brain sciences, to cartography and digital arts, to languages and neural communications. Arts and Sciences offers undergraduate and graduate majors in the fine arts, humanities, natural and computational sciences and social and behavioral sciences and is the largest college at the university. • The College of Law provides an affordable, and distinctive legal education through full and part time day and evening programs to a diverse student body and promotes legal scholarship and service that enriches the legal profession and the community. The college is consistently ranked among the top ten best schools for the money and most wired law schools by the National Jurist magazine. • The College of Education offers comprehensive programs in all areas of teacher education, counseling and education fields related to sports. Most programs offer degrees at all levels and lead toward certification and licensure. Six education alumni have been named Georgia State is Growing Georgia Teacher of the Year. • Georgia State has begun construction at the corner of Piedmont Road • The College of Health and Human Services engages in teach- and Ellis Street for a development that will house 2000 students in four ing, scholarly endeavors and service activities that are designed to towers surrounding a central courtyard. University Commons is sched- improve health and well-being and address social justice issues within uled for completion by August 2007. a multi-cultural society. With programs in nursing, physical therapy, • Georgia State’s “Main Street Master Plan” has been updated and con- nutrition, cardiopulmonary care, social work and criminal justice, tinues the exciting vision of a growing and vibrant urban research uni- this college today prepares society’s essential professionals of to- versity with a dynamic campus that fosters student life. morrow. • Projects already in the design or implementation phases include the State has earned the highest Carnegie classification for research University Science Park, a Humanities Building, a University Plaza, institutions with extensive research projects seeking breakthroughs Wall Street Student Housing, Interest Housing, a Professional Center in viral immunology, drug design, microbiology, neuroscience and for business and law an a Convocation Center. • A 161,000-square foot Student Recreation Center opened in the fall of many other exciting fields. 2001, featuring fitness centers, weight rooms, a pool, basketball courts, rock-climbing wall, martial arts studios, a jogging track, and much more. • Georgia State’s off-campus resources include class sites at two loca- tions in north metro Atlanta. The Alpharetta Center is in north Atlanta (off Georgia 400 at Old Milton Parkway) and The Gwinnett Center is in Lawrenceville. These campuses offer graduate courses in business and education. • Georgia State is growing in areas that will change lives on a global scale. The Center of Biotechnology and Drug Design aims to conquer devastating diseases around the world. The Center for Digital Commerce examines tools and trends that enhance Internet-based business. The Cen- ter for High Angular Resolution Astronomy array in Mt. Wilson, Calif.– –powerful telescopes with resolution 100 times finer than the Hubble The Helen M. Aderhold Center provides modern classroom Telescope––is already changing the way we see the universe. facilities in the heart of Georgia State’s downtown campus. 2006-07 GEORGIA STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 77 GEORGIA STATE FUN FACTS From three rooms in one building in 1913 to the second largest university in the State of Georgia. Those first classes were night classes until day classes were added in the mid- 1930s. Here are 50 “Fun Facts” about Georgia State in its 93-year history to the present that you may not have known. This aerial shot of the downtown campus shows some of how Georgia State is continuing to expand. Georgia State is located in the heart of downtown Atlanta. The 35-school University System of Georgia has seen Georgia State continue its rise to number two in the entire State in enrollment. The 35th university, Georgia Gwinnett College, admitted its first students in fall 2006. Here are figures from the University System from 2005-06 enrollments: School City Enrollment Athletic Affiliation 1. University of Georgia Athens 32,154 Division I - NCAA - SEC 2. Georgia State University Atlanta 26,000 Division I - NCAA - CAA 3. Georgia Perimeter College Decatur 20,554 JUCO - NJCAA - GJCAA 4. Kennesaw State University Kennesaw 17,983 Division I - NCAA - A-Sun 5. Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta 15,914 Division I - NCAA - ACC 6. Georgia Southern University Statesboro 15,313 Division I - NCAA - Southern 7. Valdosta State University Valdosta 9,937 Division II - NCAA - Gulf South 8. State University of West Georgia Carrollton 9,376 Division II - NCAA - Gulf South 9. Columbus State University Columbus 7,138 Division II - NCAA - Peach Belt 10.